Potato digger



Jan. Z3, 1923, 11,442,798 v w. c, FRITZ. r

PoUTO BIGGER.

FILED APR. 19, 1917. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Jan.' 23, 1923.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2 f 1,442,798. W. C. FRITZ. PoTA'ro BIGGER. Fl LED APR. 19, l 917'I .Jam l23%, 1923. 1,442,798

w. c. FRITZ. POT/:To BIGGER. FILED APR. 19. 1917y 5 sHEETssHE-ETS Jan. 23, 1923,

5 SHEETS-.SHEgT 4 Vl C FRITZ PoTATo BIGGER. Fl LED APR. 19, l 917.

Patented Jan. 23, 1923.

UNET

Magid@ WILLIAM C. FRITZ, OE CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

Forero Disons.

l.ltpplication filed April 19, 1917.

To all wlw/m, t may concern.:

Be :it known that I, lWILLIAM C. FRITZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of @ook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Potato Diggers, of which the following is a specification.

'I his invention relates to improvements in potato diggers and one of .the objects of the invention is to yprovide an improved 1nachine adapted to automatically dig Ypotatoes out of the ground without cutting or damaging the potatoes in any way, and deposit them .upon the surface of the ground un close proximity to the place from which they are dug, and at the same time avoid covering the potatoes which have been removed irom the ground, by dirt delivered from the machine during the further `digging operation.

To the attainment of `these ends and the accomplishment of other 'new and useful obfects as `will appear, the invention consists in the features of novelty in substantially the construction, combination and arrangement `of the several parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention and in which:

Figure l is a. side elevation of an iinprov-ed `machine of this character constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention.

Figure 2 chine.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 3 3, Figure l.

Figure d is a vertical longitudinal sectional view takenon line 4 4, FigureQ.

Figure 5 is a front end-elevation.

Figure 6 is a-detail vertical sectional view taken on line 6*(3, Figure il.

Figure 7 is an enlarged `detail view similar to Figure G, and with `parts omitted.

`Figure S is an enlarged sectional view of a detail.

Figure 9 is an elevation of a detail.'

Referring` more particularly to the drawings, the numeral l0 designates generally a supporting" frame or structure mounted upon the wheels ll, 1Q, the forward wheels ll constituting the steering` wheels which are adapted to be controlled in any suitable manner preferably by means of an operating lever 'i3 arranged at the rear of the mais a top plan view of the ma- Serial No. 163,281.

chine having a bar 14e connected with the lever -ll and also with the front wheels.

lvlounted upon the supporting structure l() are uprights l5, 16, which are preferably spaced longitlulinally of the machine, and these uprights 4depend below the supporting frame it), as at 17, 18, (see particularly Figure 4l) yand are provided respectively in their inner faces with ways 19, 20.

`Arranged to move between the uprights and the .depending portions 17, 18 thereof, are oppositely disposed forks, comprising body portionsl, 22, which are of a substantially Ushape formation, and the ends of the body portions are pivotally connected preferably by means of a bar 23, the eX- tremities yof which bar project ybeyond the ends of the `body portions of the forks and enter the ways 19, 20 to Amove therein when the forks are raised and lowered. These forks also embody prongs 24;, lwhich are adapted to be lowered so as to enter the groimd perpeinlicularly and the body portions are then given a rocking motion with respect to each other so that the prongs will pass under the potatoes in the hills, after which the fork is elevated to remove the potatoes from Vthe ground and then sepa- 'rated yto deposit the potatoes upon the surface of the ground. This operation of the forks may be accomplished in any desired or-suitable manner, 'but a simple .and ellicient ymeans for accomplishing this result will now be described.

Each of the forks is supported by links 1 Q5, Q6, that are pivotally connected by one extremity with the fork and the other eX- tremities of the :links are pivotally connected with a reciprocating member 27, which latter extends longitudinally of the `machine and passes through slots 28, 29il in the uprights l@ and the links are connected with `the forks in such a manner, and with respect `to the pivotal connection of the lfork members 23 `in such a way, that by the reciprocation of the member 27, a bodily and pivotal movement will be imparted to the fork members. Such a reciprocating movenient may be imparted in any suitable manner,y preferably by means of a gear 28 which is connected by means of a link 29 with one end of the reciprocating member 27. The other end of the reciprocating member is connected by means of a similar link 30 with a crank arm 3l., which `latter is connected With a shaft 32 to Which the gear 28 is secured. A motor 33 is provided for operating the gear 28. The motor operates a gear 34 which meshes with a gear 35, having connected with it and for rotation there- With a gear 36, which latter is adapted to mesh with the gear 28. Connected also to rotate with the gear 35, is a bevel gear 87, which meshes with a bevel gear 38 secured to a shaft 39 and this shaft has connected with it, a crank 40, preferably in the form of a disk Which latter operates a link 44 through the medium of a pin and slot connection 415-46. At times it is desirable that the potato digging mechanism or forks be maintained at rest or inoperative With respect to the driving or operating mechanism therefor and to that end the gear 28 is provided with a mutilated portion 60 which is adapted to be positioned adjacent the gear 36 at the proper time, so that the gear 28 Will be at rest and consequently the operation of the forks Will be arrested, While the driving or actuating mechanism continues active.

At the proper time the gears 28, 36 will be automatically rendered operative with respect to each other, and this is preferably accomplished by means oft a dog 61, which is pivotally mounted as at 62 upon the lateral face of the gear 28, .in such a manner that the end of the dog may be projected to form a tooth adjacent the mutilated portion 66 of the gear. A spring 63 is provided .for holding the end of the dog retracted.

r1`he gear 36 has connected with it a shouldered member 64 With which the dog 61 is `adapted to co-operate and the shouldered member 64 is so arranged. that when the dog 61 is projected with respect to the gear 28, the dog Will be engaged by the shouldered member 64and the rotation ot' this shouldered member will impart a partial rotation to the gear 28 so as to shift the mutilated portion 60 of the gear With respect to the gear 36 and thereby cause the teeth of the gears 36, 28, to mesh, after which the further rotation of the gear 36 will rotate the gear 28 to reciprocate and to pivotally operate the forks.

As soon as the teeth of the gears 28, 36 are in mesh, and the shouldered member 64 has passed out of engagement with the dog 61, the latter will be retracted by the spring 63, so that when the mutilated portion 60 of the gear 28 again stands opposite the gear 36, the gear 36 may be rotated independently with respect to the gear 28.

The dog 61 may be controlled from the link 44 and to that end there may be provided an arm 65 which is connected with the link and this arm is adapted to engage a lever 66 pivotally mounted as at 6T and is provided With a laterally projecting shoulder 68, beneath which the dog 61 is adapted to pass,` a spring 69 being provided for holding the shoulder 66 elevated to permit the dog to pass freely under the shoulder 68.

When the lever 66 is depressed by the arm 65, which operation Will occur when the mutilated portion 60 of the gear 28 is adjacent the gear 36, the shoulder 68 will engage and depress the dog 61 and hold the same depressed so that the shouldered portion 64 will engage the dog to start the rotation of the gear 28 and this Will cause the dog 61 to pass out of engagement with the shoulder 68, at the same time the arm 65 Will disengage the lever 66 and the spring 69 will return the lever to its normal position.

The lever 66 is also provided With a shoulder 70, that is adapted to be positioned Within the path of movement of a laterally projecting lug or pin 71 on the gear 28, at the time the mutilated portion 60 of the gear 28 stands adjacent the gear 36, to be engaged by the pin 7l, which operates as alock for locking the gear 28 against rotation. hen the lever 66 is depressed tof project the dog 61, the shoulder 70 will be moved out of the path of movement of the pin 71 to permit the gear 28 to rotate. rEhe links-29, 30 are of such a. length. and are connected respectively with the gear 28 and crank arm 31 in such a way that the prongs 24 of the forks Will be held vertical during the time that the forks are lowered and the prongs are entering the ground, but when the prongs have entered the ground, the eX- tremities of the bar 23 which forms the pivotal connection of the forks will engage the shoulders72 (see Figure 4) at the ends of the ways 19, 20 of the depending portions 17, 18 of the uprights 15, 16 and a further lowering of the member 27 will cause the forks .to be rocked about their pivots in such a manner as to move the ends of the prongs towards each other beneath the potatoes in the ground.

rlhe forks will then be elevated by a further operation of thelinks 29, 30 and the potatoes will be held between the prongs. In order to prevent the prongs from being opened by the Weight of the potatoes and of the earth, a suitable spring controlled catch 73 (See particularly Figure 3), is provided which is pivotally mounted upon one of the body portions of; the prongsnnd is provided with an open seat 73, adapted to receive a pin 74 on the body portion of the other fork so as to lock the forks in their closed position with respect to each other, the springs 75 operating to cause the catch to automatically engage the pin 74. The forks will remain locked until the potatoes have been removed from the ground and in order to trip the catch and release the forks So as to permit the potatoes to be deposited upon the ground, a. suitable shoulder or projection 'T6 is provided, (see particularly Figure 3) within the path offfmovement of l"the catch 73,"which willtrip the catch and release the forks; f -In vorderto open the lforks when thus released, any suitable means may be` pro- `36 and the motor is a`ctuated,"tlie rotation of the crank 40 `will cause the pin 45 to depress `the linkfet to cause the arm '65 carried thereby to engage the lever 661 and depress the dog 61 so thatit will be positioned to lbe engaged by the shouldered member 6d on 'the gear Br 4This will lrender the gears "36, 28 active with respect vto each other-and the forks,ithe prongs of which have previously been at `rest 4and lheld in` a vertical position will be lowered to impale the ground, and pass yunder the potatoes in the ground. The extremities lof the forksvmove towards each other until they are locked bythe catch 73. The forks `are then raised until they clear the ground and the catch 73 will be tripped to release -lihe forks at `which time the weight of the potatoes and the springs 77 will separate lthe forks and the potatoes will beldeposited upon the surface of the ground.

It may be desirable "to provide a means' whereby the dirt which is removedby the forks with the potatoes will be removed from the forks before the potatoes aredulnped, on accountof damp ground or forfother reasons, the dirt may adhere to the potatoes. This however, can be accomplished in any suitable `manner and the prongs are caused to move towards yand away from each other with an increasingly forward sweep with respect to each other. A simple and eflicient u means for1- accomplishing this 4comprisesone or more undulatedsurfaces`80 which may be supported from any suitable fixed support, preferably from the main `frame work of the machine. The body portion ofone or both of the fork members may be provided with a projection or roller 81 adapted to roll over this surface during the'elevat-ing movement of the forks so that a vibration or agitating movement will be imparted to the `forks to cause thedirt to be siftedthrough the forks. This movement will cause each set ofprongs to sweepv longitudinally between the prongs of the opposite set as well as towards and away from each other. The-undulated surfaces 8O are inclined and not only serve `as a locking means for preventing 'the weight of the material from opening the forks. but

`also operate to cause they forks lto have an ggg increasingly forward sweep towards each other as fthe projections or rollers 8l move over the inclined surface.

The directionof shifting movement of the machine may be controlled by means of a clutch member S2 which is'connected with a shaft 83, to which the gear 36 is connected. The clutch member is adapted to be controlled by an operating lever Se located in a convenient position for the operator and shifts the clutch member so as to lock one or the other of the gears S5, 86 for rotation with the shaft S3, and these gears 8f3 mesh with the gear 8T on a shaft S8, which shaft 88 is connected by means of a sprocket wheel 89 through the medium of a sprocket chain 90 with a sprocket on lthe shaft of the traction wheels. Obviously, when it is desired to change the direction of travel of the machine, the dog` 42 which operates with the ratchet il must be rendered inactive by shifting the `shield 59 in the manner described.

The gears 85, S6, 87, etc. are used for the purpose of transferring the machine, not during operation `of the digging of the potatoes from the vground, but from'one field to another, etc. During this traveling movement of the machine under these conditions, it is desirable that the operating` mechanism for the `forks be also rendered inactive and to that end, the lever 66 is provided with an adjustable extremity 92 that adapted to be engaged bythe arm G5. For the purpose of shifting the extremity 92 with respect to the lever G6, there may be provided a pair of links 93, 94, pivotally connected by one extremity as at 95. The other extremity ,of one of the links is pivotally connected as at 9G with the lever (3G. which latter is preferably `tubular so that the portion having the extremity 92, may slide therein, which extremity is adapted to be projected beyond the tubular portion of the lever. rllhe tubular portion of the lever is provided with a. slot 97 and the free extremity of the other link is connected as at 98 with the internal member of the lever 66. .ik link 99 is pivotally connected with the joint of the links 93, 94. and this link 99 is connected as at 100 with the lever S4. that controls the clutch member 82 so that when the clutch member is shifted. the extremity 92 of the lever 66 will be withdrawn and the lever will not be actuated, so that the gears 28, 36 will remain locked with respectto each other` lllhen the clutch member 82 is in a neutral position, that is with respect to the lgears S5. 8G, the extremity 92 will be projected with respect to the lever 6G so that the arm G5 will engage the lever and actuate the same.

`While the preferred form of the invention has'heen herein shown and described. it is to be understood that various changes may be made in the details of construction, and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts without departing Yfrom the spiritA movement to cause the prongs to pass be-` neath and litt the potatoes, and means for imparting such movements to the digging members. Y

2. A. potato digging machine embodying a wheel supported structure, cooperating digging members mounted upon the structure and embodying prongs adapted to enter the ground on opposite sides of the hills and in substantially vertical positions, said members being adapted to be bodily reciprocated towards and away trom the ground, and also adapted for shitting movement to cause the prongs after they enter thel ground to be shifted to pass beneath and litt the potatoes, means for imparting such movements to the digging members, and means for agitating the dirt and potatoes held by the digging members.

A potato digging machine embodyinga wheel supported structure, co-operating digging members mounted upon the structure and embodying prongs adapted to en ter the ground on opposite sides ot the hills, said members being adapted to be bodily rcciprocated towards and away from. the ground, and also adapted for shitting movement to cause the prongs to pass beneath and lift the potatoes, means for temporarily locking the digging members in co-operative relation, means for imparting such movements to the digging members, and means :tor impartinga vibratory movement to the diggers. Y

t. A potato digging machine embodying a wheel supported structure, a pairl of prongv shaped members mounted thereon, 'means for reciprocating the members to cause the prongs to enterthe ground and for moving` the ends or the prongs towards each other to raise the potatoes, means for locking the prongs in the last recited position with respect to each other, and means i'or automatically rendering the said locking means inactive to dump the potatoes.

5. A potato digging machinev embodying a wheel supported structure, prong shaped members supported thereby and adapted to penetrate the `ground and pass under the potatoes to lift them from the ground, means for imparting such ,operation to the said members, automatically operating means for locking the members with respect LA potatodigging machine embodying a'wheel supported structure, potato digging mechanism supported by the structure, and means `tor actuating the potatov digging mechanism, the said meansA embodying op,- positely disposed co-operat-ing prong members adapted to enter the ground on the opposite sidesot and pass under the potatoes toi-aise them out ot Athe ground. l

8.. A potato digging machine embodying: a wheel supported structure, potato digging mechanism supported by v the structure, means for actuating the potato digging mechanism and embodying `oppositely disposed co-operating prong members adapted.

to enter the ground on opposite sidesV of and pass under the potatoes to raise them outot the ground, and means forl opening;lthe prong members to drop thel potatoes.

9. A. potato digging'machineembodying awheel supported structure, potato 'digging mechanism,supported bythe structure and embodying means for rendering and maintaining the potato digging mechanism inactive, and means operating automatically to render the said potato digging mech-V anism actiyepsaid potato .digging mech-'- anism` embodying co-.Operating- `prongI shaped members adapted to enter the ground, pass under the potatoes and raise them from the ground. i

l0. A `potato digging machine embodying a wheel supported structure, uprights thereon, 4ceo-operating` oppositely disposed digging members mounted to bodilyreciprocate upon the uprights, said members being also adapted 'for swinging' movement towards and away from each other, means for impartingsuch movements to `the members, and embodying a `reciprocating element withwvhich the members are connected, means for automatically locking :the members when they. are twang towards each other. and means `tor automatically releasing the members'to permit them to swing away from'each other.

11. :Lpotatodigging machine embodying a wheel supported structure.l uprights thereon, co-,operating oppositely disposed digging members mounted to .bodily reciproto discharge the p'of iso cate upon the nprights, said members being also adapted for swinging' movement towards and away from each other, means tor imparting` such movements to the members, and embodying' a reciprocating element with which the members are Connected, means for automatically looking the members when they are swung1 towards each other, means for automatically releasing the members to permit them to swing away from each other and lmeans for automatieally arresting the operation or' the digging members.

12. A potato diggingmachine embodying a traveling; structure, Co-operating digging members mounted upon the struoture and embodying prongs adapted to enter the ground on opposite sides ot the hills, said members being` adapted to be bodily reciproeated towards and away from the ground, and also adapted for shifting' movement to cause the prongs to pass beneath and lift the potatoes, means 'for imparting the bodily movement to the digging members, and means for Causing' the prongs to move towards and away from each other with an increasingly forward sweep with respect to each other.

13. A potato digging1 machine embodying.: a travelingl structure, oppositely disposed digging members supported thereby, said members being mounted itor bodily `movement with respect to the structure and tor pivotal action with respect to each other, and. means t'or imparting such movements to the digging members, said means embodying operating` links and means pivotally connecting` one of said links to each ot the members, the point of pivotal connection of the links with respect to the members being offset laterally with relation to the pivot ot the respective member.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence ot two subscribing witnesses, on this 14th dajy7 or' April, A. D. 1917.

WILLIAM C. FRITZ. lVitnesses:

IRMA M. BARING, J. H. JooHUM, Jr. 

